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Purpose: Information sharing and gathering. A place holder for
objective and subjective information. An opportunity to be specific and
detailed, and appropriate.
Types of Apps
Institutional Application: Accessed on college’s website (UO, OSU,
MIT, Georgetown)
Priority Applications: Sent directly to student via mail or email (UP
and Creighton)
The Common Application: Around 700 colleges and universities
subscribe. Online processing allows for multiple submissions. Need to
account for supplemental forms. Standard essay questions often
supplemented by colleges in own form.
The Coalition Application: Offered by a coalition of over 90
institutions that have joined together to "improve the college application
process for all students." Examples of coalition colleges include
College of the Holy Cross, Pomona, Reed, Stanford, Princeton. The
vast majority of Coalition colleges also accept either the Common Application
or their own institutional application. University of Florida is the only institution
that will only accept the Coalition application. Because the Coalition
Application is new and relatively untested, and the document submission
process is more time-intensive for teacher recommenders, College Advisors
here (and at Jesuit high schools across the U.S.) strongly advise that students
continue to use the Common Application or school-specific applications for the
time being.
Action Item
Start Early: Do not wait until the last minute to submit. Be complete and
thorough in your application completion. Keep track of application status and
do not be afraid to call or email the admission office with questions.
Flier is available at
www.nacacnet.org
University of Oregon and Clark Honors College
Early Action: November 1
Regular Notification Deadline: January 15
Baylor University
Early Action: November 1
Single Choice Early Action: November 1 - indication of intent
Regular Decision: February 1
Santa Clara University
Early Decision: November 1
Early Action: November 1
Regular Decision: January 7
Western Oregon University
Rolling Application Deadline.
Apply by March 1 for priority consideration for scholarships.
As expressed in the Bruce Poch quote I opened with, in the search for
the genuine student, both objective and subjective student elements are
expressed in the application.
Top four factors in the college admission decision as a result of NACAC
survey of college admission directors. The top four are fairly objective.
1) Grades in college prep courses - Math, English, History, Science,
and World Language
2) Strength of curriculum
3) Test Scores (SAT, ACT)
4) Grades in all courses
Many public universities and minimally selective private colleges will
primarily consider objective criteria in the admission decision.
In a selective environment or if the student is shy of the colleges
admission profile, both objective and subjective elements are used to
discern institutional fit and future academic and personal contributions to the
campus community. This is often referred to as “Holistic Review” or “Holistic
Admissions”.
We’ll now review some of the objective elements of the students application.
Most important: A true window into the student’s academic choices and
ability. Your course choices are the foundation toward your college
success. HS academic challenge encourages good habits &
preparation for the demands of college course work. Transcript rigor is
always favorably considered in the admission review.
What an Admissions Officer will consider…
1) Did the student truly take advantage of the academic
opportunities available to him or her?
2) Does the student meet our admission profile (middle 50% is
available)?
3) How many years and grades in core academic subjects?
4) Did the student persist in a foreign language throughout their
high school career?
5) Does the overall GPA approximate the level of the student’s
standardized test scores?
6) If the student presents a modest academic record, they may ask
if there are extraneous circumstances that may have impacted a
student’s academic progress (could result in contact by admission
officer with college counselor).
7) In a selective environment: was the student able to take an aggressive
course load and achieve exemplary grades?
Grade Trend
Colleges will look favorably upon an upward grade trend. Did the student
experience personal and academic growth over the course of their early high
school career? Reinforced in recommendation letters.
School Profile
The transcript is evaluated within the context of Jesuit High School and its
school profile/grading scale. The school profile gives the college admission
officer an insight into the grading structure, course availability, quality of
faculty. The profile clearly explains the schools grade weighting policy and how
a weighted cumulative GPA is configured.
Remember: In an early admission environment, it is your grades through your
Junior year (as well as your senior year course selection) that are being
considered in the admission decision.
Consider: Would providing the senior year first semester grades be helpful?
Action Item
SHOW TRANSCRIPT REQUEST FORM
Provide the counseling office at least two weeks notice for transcript requests.
Forms on Jesuit College Advising website, Family Connection Document
Library and in Counseling Center.
ACT vs SAT: Colleges accept both. Tests are more similar now than
they’ve ever been.
Tests are just one piece of the puzzle. Rarely do test scores alone
admit or deny a student. Test scores provide a way for admission
officers to compare applicants from different schools around the
country. Test scores are often used in conjunction with the cumulative
GPA to determine merit scholarship eligibility.
Action Item
Do not wait too long to send test scores to your prospective colleges.
Sending multiple scores can benefit students with score trends and
“super scoring”. Most applications, including Common Application,
provide space to self-report, super score and notify of pending scores.
When in doubt, call the colleges to verify if testing date is in time for
receipt of score before deadline.
Second Set of Factors in Admission Decisions: expand into subjective
elements of the file. Used by most private colleges and selective public
universities.
Second set of factors
Essay or writing sample
Teacher recommendation
Extracurricular activities
Counselor recommendation
For tonight's presentation, I am going to focus on the first two
admission decision factors, essays and teacher recommendations.
The essay is a wonderful opportunity for the student to apply a personal
touch to their application. Many of the standardized parts of the
application are well established – academic profile, standardized test
scores…. The college essay – both short and long submissions –
allows the student to apply a human and personal affect to their
application. It is an opportunity for the student to show who they are
beyond their accomplishments and academic successes.
Generally it is important that the student
Understand the Prompt
Answer the Prompt
Show Reflection
Write about Themselves
As parents, you can help your student reflect and articulate their
personal attributes and characteristics. It is possible that from such
conversations, a personal story will emerge that truly reflects those
characteristics.
Rather than start with the prompt, perhaps start with the story, and then
see how it might match a provided prompt.
Not all colleges require teacher recommendations. General
undergraduate applications to UO and UW do not require teacher
recommendations; Most Common Application colleges require both a
counselor and teacher recommendation.
Teacher recommendations provide a comprehensive insight into the
students academic ability; intellectual curiosity and classroom strengths.
Teachers are asked to address what they think is important about the
student including a description of academic and personal
characteristics.
Students have been instructed to:
Choose carefully: Students should ask teachers from classes where
they have been most engaged intellectually. Could include sophomore
as well as junior/senior year. Students should consider the work they
did in class, their relationship, and how their experience in the class
could fit with their college choices (was it demanding, does the subject matter
reflect an intended major?). More is not better. Submit the number of
recommendations required.
Ask early: This is the time to be approach teachers about recommendations.
Students should be sensitive to their case load and have back up instructors in
mind in the case that they are not able to accommodate your request. An
affirmative conversation should include discussion regarding timing of
sequence with early applications.
How can parents help? Production and organization. Provide a supply of
thank you notes
SHOW ENVELOPE + RECOMMENDATION CHECKLIST + STUDENT
INFORMATION SHEET
Forms on Family Connection Document Library and in Counseling Center.
In addition to the subjective review flavored by the admission officer’s
lens…other institutional priorities come into play. Parents can help
students understand that many aspects of the admission process are
unfortunately beyond their control.
Institutional Priorities
Gender
Legacy
Athletics
Program of Study
Geographic Diversity
Contribution to Campus Community
On all applications, students will confront questions related to the
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA. The federal
government has given students the right of access to confidential
documents in the application process – namely teacher
recommendations – that will eventually reside at the college where they
will matriculate and enroll. Acknowledging the integrity of the
application process, colleges give students the opportunity to waive
their right of access to such confidential documents.
Why would a student choose to waive their FERPA right? From the
Common Application….
The majority of Jesuit students will waive their right of access to their
recommendation letters.
Parents can help students understand what FERPA is. Help them trust
the process and their teachers.
A selective decision is human, not humane.
Admission Results
Admit – Letter of admission with instructions for confirmation
Deny – welcome to follow-up with college and find out why, often
precluded from sharing details
Defer – opportunity provide updated information; In a regular decision
environment
Waitlist – your choice if you want to hang on, requires feedback from
student, make sure you communicate, you can ask what the college’s
history is re: waitlist; varies from year to year.
A student’s admission results will reflect their academic profile, the
strength of their application, and the selectivity of the university or
college. Know that as college advisors, we desire that students apply to
a balanced list of colleges, including colleges where the student is likely
to be admitted. College advisors can assist in that determination.
Parents can help students provide some realism to their application process by
making sure that they are ready and willing to attend any college that admits
them.
May 1: Aside from ED, May 1 is the commitment deadline. Hopefully by May
1 you have a nice complement of schools to review: safety, local, selective,
distant, independent, public, etc.
Parents can help students understand the affordability factor and if that
impacts their future college choice. It is better to have that conversation
now, than to wait until the admission results have been conferred.
Parents can use the Net Price Calculators at individual college websites
to determine if need-based financial aid, or in some cases merit
scholarships, are possibly available at the student’s intended colleges.
The NPC will help parents and students to determine the potential Net
Price after need and/or merit scholarships have been conferred. If the
student is not eligible for need and/or merit scholarships, then the Net
Price will be abundantly clear.
The first step in the need based financial process is to complete the
FAFSA which will now be available on October 1. Parents who have
completed the FAFSA for older children may remember when the
FAFSA came live on January 1. The government has moved the
FAFSA release date up to October 1, now allowing families to complete
the FAFSA initially utilizing income information from the Prior Prior tax year.
For the class of 2017, families can use income information from their already
completed 2015 Federal taxes. A general message coming from colleges is
that students and families are encouraged to file the FAFSA during the month
of October to maximize federal, state and institutional funding sources.
We do encourage all first time college families to complete the FAFSA to fully
explore potential aid eligibility.
In addition to the FAFSA, some colleges require a supplemental financial aid
form called the CSS Profile. A review of the CSS Profile website will help you
identify colleges that may require this form, in addition to the FAFSA.
In addition to individual visits with college advisors, there are a number
of college research opportunities throughout the school year.